A CHINTZ sofa was dumped in the middle of Castlemorton Common overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday.

The sofa was spotted by the side of the road leading towards the Gullet Quarry by a member of the public, Pamela Patrick, who alerted the Malvern Hills Trust and also sent this picture to the Malvern Gazette.

In contrast to most fly-tipping, which happens in hidden country lanes, the sofa was dumped in a highly visible position.

A spokesman for the trust, formerly the Conservators, said on Wednesday afternoon: "We were made aware of this issue this morning by a member of the public. It is disappointing to see that some people have such little respect for the countryside.

"We are lucky that this was just a sofa, as plastic bags and other dumped materials could have been a danger to inquisitive cattle that graze the common.

"The fly tipping has now been cleared away by our staff but if anyone has any information regarding this incident then please contact us on 01684 892002."